1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a maneuvering system to be used for controlling or facilitating three-dimensional motion of a real or graphically rendered object on a computer, an electronic display or other electronic or electro-mechanical devices.
2. Description
FIGS. 1A and 1B show, schematically, the generic structure of a prior art two-dimensional (2D) optical mouse (101), which is a two-dimensional (2D) cursor maneuvering device. During its operation, the operator moves the mouse unit (e.g. from point A1 to A2) on a 2D desktop surface (106), hereinafter also referred to as a reference plane. By comparing a series of images captured from said desktop surface the conventional optical mouse (101) sends motion vectors to the remote computer, whose data format is also a 2D one, i.e., (ΔX, ΔY). As FIG. 1C shows, a cursor (not shown) in the displaying device (107) would move from point B1 to B2 on the display as the mouse unit moved from A1 to A2 on the reference plane (106). As FIG. 1A further shows, during the course of the maneuvering action, the mouse unit (101) uses a light source (103) to illuminate an area (107) which is surrounded by a cavity (102) in the mouse, and pictures are taken of this area by an image sensor (105). When buttons (104) on the mouse are clicked, certain function(s) (e.g. file open, close, object select, etc.) can also be activated.
In recent years, the three-dimensional (3D) displaying device has become increasingly popular. Such a device can be used on the computer, video gaming device, global positioning system (GPS), etc. Despite its appealing claimed functionality, a state of art 3D displaying device suffers from one serious shortcoming, it does not interact directly with the conventional optical mouse, which is a 2D device. Specifically, there is no point to point relationship between the data processed by the mouse and by the displaying device. As a result of this shortcoming, many professional computer programs (e.g. AUTOCAD®, medical images utilities, etc.) face difficulties when used in a 3D environment. Quite simply, over the past few decades the technological progress of the cursor maneuvering device (i.e., the mouse) has not caught up with that of graphical rendering technology (e.g. flat panel display).